How do Tobacco Advertisers Apply Behavioral Learning Principles in Ads?

Behavioral learning principles apply to many marketing situations. George Perlov, a member of advertising council, stated, “Advertising is an art and a science” (Committee on Communications, 1995). It may be used to create a distinctive brand image or it may link a product to an underlying need. To better understand how tobacco advertisers create ads using psychology to change children’s buying behavior, this paper will briefly discuss two behavioral learning theories in the following section.

One behavioral learning theory used by tobacco advertisers is classical conditioning. As demonstrated by Pavlov, classical conditioning occurs when a stimulus that brings forth a response is paired with another stimulus that originally wouldn’t cause that response. Over time, the stimulus that wouldn’t bring forth a response will bring forth the same response as the first stimulus. It is now associated with the first stimulus (Bower, 1989). Many classic advertising campaigns consist of product slogans that have been repeated so many times that they are fixed in consumer’s minds. An example of a tobacco ad that was aimed at boys and used classical conditioning is the Marlboro Man. The Marlboro Man is just a character, but he is associated with being “ruff and rugged” (Liu, 2000). Another example is cigarette ads that show young people having a good time at a party and smoking. A child viewing this ad may begin to associate that happy feeling with the cigarette.

Another behavioral learning theory is called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning, as demonstrated by Skinner, occurs when an individual learns to perform behaviors that produce positive outcomes and avoid those that produce negative outcomes (Bower, 1989). Operant conditioning is being used when a consumer is rewarded for a purchase decision. Tobacco advertisers use operant conditioning when they reward customers with prizes for using their product. An example of this appears to be Camel cigarettes and their use of “Camel Cash.” This promotion promises kids that if they buy Camel cigarettes they will be rewarded with free sunglasses or flip-flops and other promotional items (Hammer, 2001).

Tobacco advertisers use these theories when they are creating advertisements that are targeted towards children. Children are so important to the tobacco industry that they have done research on children using hidden cameras, interviews, and psychological tests to find ways to get children to smoke.